
Christina Applegate in Samantha Who? by Karen Neal/ABC
This Monday, TV's cutest amnesiac may not just be getting a new time slot (9 pm/ET), she may be getting a new boyfriend, too. On the next Samantha Who?, dimpled Invasion dreamboat Eddie Cibrian guests as the contractor Mama Newly hires to redo her floors and, um, kinda invites to do her daughter as well. Wacky chaos ensues when Sam fibs that she's a hockey fan, and turns to her ex, Todd, for G-rated explanations of terms like "high-sticking," much to the chagrin of his new squeeze (played by poor Kiele Sanchez, for whom Lost might as well have been called "Get Lost"). Ben Katner
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Eddie Cibrian by Bob D'Amico/ABC, Kiele Sanchez by Bob D'Amico/ABC
If you needed two more reasons to catch ABC's unquestionably entertaining Samantha Who?, here they are: Sources confirm to me exclusively that producers have tapped ex-Invasion hottie Eddie Cibrian and short-lived Lost castaway Kiele Sanchez for multi-episode arcs. Cibrian has been cast as a love interest for Christina Applegate's title character, while Sanchez who I swear is just one good role away from being a huge star will romance Barry Watson's Todd. ABC is clearly looking to keep both actors on the payroll. In addition to their respective roles on Invasion and Lost, Cibrian and Sanchez starred in the Alphabet Net's ill-fated Football Wives pilot. Samantha Who? premieres on Oct. 15 and, trust me, you guys are gonna Eat. It. Up.
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Kiele Sanchez and Rodrigo Santoro, Lost
Even in death, Lost's most reviled castaways can't get any peace. In the ABC series' March 28th episode, Nikki (Kiele Sanchez) and Paolo (Rodrigo Santoro) — who were clumsily introduced at the beginning of season three and never forgiven for it — were revealed to be diamond-grubbing murderers who, in one of the series' darkest twists to date, were paralyzed by spider bites and unwittingly buried alive by show heroes Sawyer and Hurley. Response to the episode proved bitterly divided, with viewers and online bloggers — see TVGuide.com's Roush Dispatch,
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As a happy distraction from our long national nightmare — make that bad joke — that is Sanjaya Malakar, can I just say that Lost blew me away Wednesday night? What an absolute treat of an episode, a clear sign that the show, after a stalled fall, is back in full throttle, back on its creative game and still more than capable of spinning a great, entertaining yarn.Weaving flashbacks that appeared to be posthumous but really weren't (more on that later) while providing clever new angles on classic Lost moments from previous seasons including the immediate aftermath of the crash itself this episode was also a welcome reminder that sometimes these producers really do seem to know what they're doing after all. We were silly, and unworthy, to have doubted them, don't you think? For all those times this season that we clucked and shook our heads whenever we spied the marginal beauties Nikki (Kiele Sanchez) and Paulo (Rodrigo Santoro), wondering (as Sawyer often sa...
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Surely Im not the only one who flashed on Gilligan's Island at the end of this weeks Lost, after Locke inadvertently caused the farmhouse/communications hub to go boom when he typed the numbers 77 into the chess-game computer. As Sayid moaned, channeling the Captain: "Now look what youve done, Locke." (Another fine mess?) There goes our communications link with the outside world. Now well never find our way home. If the soundtrack at that moment had bleated a comical wah-wah-wah, it would have been perfect.Not that I didnt enjoy the episode. On the contrary. Lost continues its post-hiatus rehabilitation (in quality if not in ratings) with another strong episode, albeit not a work of art like last weeks Hurley joyride. (If you didnt like that episode, what in the world are you doing watching Lost?) The Sayid flashback, a parable about the quality of mercy in a world tainted by torture, provided solid counterpoint to the taut suspe...
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The latest word on who's doing which pilots, per the Hollywood Reporter and Variety: But what about Nikki emerging later this season as an "iconic" character?! Lost's Kiele Sanchez has a second-position gig lined up for the fall, playing the pregnant wife of a rising star in ABC's Football Wives. Julianna Margulies has the lead, playing an edgy defense attorney, in Fox's Canterbury's Law. Playing one of NBC's Nurses, Less Than Perfect's Sara Rue is a married woman who (gasp!) frequents online dating sites. Frances O'Connor (Mansfield Park) is an investment banker in ABC's Cashmere Mafia. Aubrey Dollar (Point Pleasant) is a crime reporter in ABC's Women's Murder Club. Jaime Murray (Hustle) has joined CBS' Demons. Glenn Fitzgerald is a minister with secrets in ABC's Dirty Sexy Money, starring fellow Six Feet Under alum Peter Krause. Jonathan Cake (Six Degrees) is (are?) identical twin brothers in NBC's The Mastersons of Manhattan.
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Question: I think I figured out your asterisk quiz about the other actress who was considered for Kiele Sanchez's Lost role. My guess is -i--- -y--r. Hot or cold?
Answer: Sizzling! (Sorry, but I couldn't bring myself to run Rachel's entire answer. The rest of you have to work for it.)
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Question: What can you tell us about the role Kiele Sanchez will be playing on Lost?
Answer: All I know is that her name is Nikki and she'll be a love interest for Rodrigo Santoro. I suspect — and this is just me speculating — she'll be one of those background survivors we have yet to formally meet.
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Remember the hint I dropped in this week's Ask Ausiello about an actress from a "recently axed TV show" vying for that third Lost role? Well, I was referring to Related's Kiele Sanchez -- not Eliza Dushku, as 90 percent of you had guessed/hoped. I'm telling you this now because it looks like Ms. Sanchez closed the deal late Friday, although I have yet to receive an official confirmation from ABC. I'll have more on this developing story in this Wednesday's AA.
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